A Dream Realized
by Nessa30
Summary: Nell is a runner. Her passion is running Marathons. Her dream, to run the biggest one which is the New York City Marathon. Will that dream come true for her.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Now that Fall's here and this upcoming weekend is one of those Marathon's I like to watch takes place I'd figure I take one of my favorite characters and write this story. I'm really not a runner but I've done a bit of research so some things may not be accurate and is part of my little imagination. this is AU of course. Finally the usual disclaimers apply.

Enjoy.

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Chapter 1

_August 26, 2012_

Nell was nervously checking the news. In a little over a week, she would be realizing her dream of running the New York Marathon. There was just one problem, Hurricane Sandy. For the past couple of days forecasters were saying that she was barreling towards the East Coast of the United States but what had everyone worried was how big and dangerous this storm was getting and its target was looking like The New York-New Jersey shore. _Not good! _ She was saying in her head. Of course she was hoping for better news but as time went on it was getting worse. She was hoping that the storm wasn't as bad as they were predicting so the marathon could take place on November fourth.

Hetty was the only one at this point who knew she was doing this in fact Hetty had approved her leave request for the one week period around that date. The reservations had been made the hotel in Manhattan booked and everything was ready the only real kink could be a hurricane that was shaping up to be a superstorm. Closing her laptop she got ready for bed and would be checking ZNN and the Weather Channel for updates in the morning.

* * *

Saturday morning she was up by seven to do her run and then run some errands to pick up some last minute items for the trip and a little grocery shopping. Once she got home, she spent the time cleaning and had ZNN on in the background as she worked and did laundry. She was interrupted when Hurricane warnings were now being posted for the New York City area and Mayor Michael Bloomberg order evacuations. The forecast wasn't looking good. But still Nell was being optimistic.

* * *

_Sunday Morning_

"_Miss Jones I'm growing concerned about this storm."_

"You're not the only one Hetty," Nell spoke into her cell. "I'm hoping I can still get to New York in a few days."

"_Same here."_

"Let's play this by ear hopefully this storm will turn tonight or something."

"_All we can do is hope for the best now."_

After finishing her call with Hetty, Nell tried some yoga and read a book to try and clear her mind but it was no use. After eating dinner that night, she was watching the coverage from New York and already things were beginning to happen out there. She finally gave up around 9 p.m. and went to bed with a bad felling that this was not going to be a good week.

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

Enjoy

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Chapter 2

"Man things look bad out there," Kensi was saying watching the monitor in the main area of the mission. In fact everyone in the Office of Special projects in Los Angeles was watching the news and it was not good.

"Yeah, I heard there's flooding and Staten Island is a mess." Callen was saying as they stood with everyone else watching the screen.

"Morning everyone isn't this a beautiful morning," came Deeks as he came in.

Kensi just glared at her partner while Callen and a few others gave him a dirty look.

"What I was just saying …" his banter came to a halt when he saw the image of what looked like airport gateways under water. "Is that …"

"New York." Spoke up more than a few voices.

"La Guardia Airport to be exact," said Eric as he came to join them.

"Oh man," Deeks spoke in a quiet voice to much in shock at what he saw.

At that moment, Sam came in speaking on his cell phone. "Yeah, okay if you hear anything else, let me know."

Callen turned to his partner as he hung up the phone. "Everything okay Sam?"

"Yeah, heard from family in Brooklyn."

"They okay,"

Letting out a huge sigh he nodded. "Everyone's fine so far. They all had a scary night though."

"Well that's good to know."

While everyone was watching the news, no one noticed Hetty in the office on the phone. "You have no idea when service will be restored." As the petite woman listened to whoever was on the other line. "Well keep me informed." Hanging up the phone she pinched the bridge of her nose "Bugger." Not sure what to do now. All airports in the New York City area were shut down indefinitely. Well, she figured she keep trying since they hadn't cancelled the Marathon yet.

Back in the main area Nell had arrived and she was not in a good mood. No one dared to ask why. A few knew she was set to go out of town to the east coast later this week and figured this storm was about to wreck her plans. Besides the look on her face was enough to shut everyone up. Heading for Hetty's office, she found her boss not in any better mood either. Looking up from her desk, Hetty saw the young woman come in and sighed. "all airports are closed out there. I'm aware you're flying into La Guardia"

Nell sighed and nodded.

"So you've heard,"

"And seen it on ZNN." Nell said in frustration.

"I've already made some calls, it turns out no one knows when the airports are going to reopen."

Nell just nodded.

"And they haven't cancelled the Marathon yet. Uh, …" Hetty said in frustration. Knowing that the woman in front of her had been looking forward to this since qualifying for it months ago. "I have you're reservation information. As soon as we know when flights will resume I'll see about getting you there."

"Thanks Hetty."

She just nodded and Nell headed to her desk to begin her day occasionally glancing at the news. It wasn't good. Staten Island where the race was to begin at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was a mess and that was an understatement. Also the New Jersey shoreline was in shambles, Breezy Point had been set on fire and Lower Manhattan was flooded. When she had learned that she had qualified for the New York City Marathon, Nell began researching New York City and its five boroughs and the entire race route from end to end. She'd also read stories and spoke to others who have run the Marathon and had been so looking forward to this. But with the damage that was being seen in Staten Island, Nell was wondering if the race would ever take place.

As the day wore on, Nell basically kept to herself. They had no active cases so the only for her to do was just go over intelligence that had come in. During lunch, she checked with the airline about resumption of flights and between her and Hetty were In touch with a travel agent to see about flying into other airports nearby. It was no luck. The airlines themselves were basically screwed as well.

Everyone knew something was up with her but didn't bother to ask. Besides Nell was not willing to share period. This was her dream and hers alone and she wasn't about to let Deeks or Eric turn it into a joke or Sam or Callen either for that matter. She could take care of herself. The same went for Kensi too. Only Hetty knew and had respected her decision not to tell the others and that this was something she needed to do for herself since it was her dream.

Nell went home at the end of the day not sure if she would even get to New York or not but she was determined to try since the Marathon was still on despite the damage.

* * *

You are welcome to R&R


	3. Chapter 3

I was up early on Sunday to watch the live broadcast of the New York City Marathon online. 45,000 to 48,000 people they estimate ran it this year.

Here's the latest chapter. Enjoy

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Chapter 3

_Friday, November 2, 2012_

_Jarvis Center, New York City_

She had finally made it to New York City. Back on Tuesday, both Hetty and herself had learned that flights were being resumed to the east coast but the Airports in the New York City were still trying to get back on their feet. The good thing was that there was an alternative. Fly into another airport not too far off and then make her way to New York from there. Nell had already been in touch with other runners she knew about doing this and so it was agreed that they would all fly into Philadelphia and meet up there and make their way to Manhattan by car as a group. Wednesday found Nell bouncing around airports until she landed in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. On Thursday, she met up with three friends who were also running the marathon and undertook the long drive to New York. Instead of taking a direct route through New Jersey and along the coast, they took an inland route instead, they had really no choice. The New Jersey coast was in shambles and both the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels were closed. They thought about going by way of the Staten Island expressway from New Jersey, but after learning how bad the damage was there, they opted to find another route over ground which meant driving further north and entering New York City from the north instead. That took pretty much a chunk of Thursday since they found themselves zigzagging along the major highways to get there. They had found ways to make light of the road trip by watching movies that they had put on their iPads or listening to music and singing along to them. Or just talking and having a good time. They also were thinking of ways to help out those affected by Sandy while they were there when they weren't concentrating on a Marathon.

Now Nell and her friends were at the Jarvis Center. Nell was busy going through her race packet and filling out any last minute paperwork. The place was a buzz of activity as people gathered to talk or check out exhibits, or in Nell's case, snap up a few souvenirs while she was there. Nell was texting an update to her family when she noticed a change in the volume in the hall. Looking up she saw her friend coming towards her, "What's going on Kate?"

"there's a news conference, it's on TV, I'm going to go check it out."

"I'll join you," putting everything back in her bag, they went to join a crowd gathered around a giant flat screen TV set up for people to check the news and updates on the Sandy Recovery.

They listened as the CEO of the New York Road Runners announced that they would not be conducting the Marathon after all. At that the place erupted in conversation at once.

"Why didn't they do this days ago?" Kate was asking.

"Yeah, not everyone has made it to New York," spoke up Nell who was now in a panic inside her head. _This can't be happening! Not now! _Her dream of running this marathon was shattering in front of her. All the planning, running other marathons and finally qualifying for this one was now coming to a crashing halt in front of her. Nell separated herself from everyone else and made her way to a n area that was devoid of people since people were gathered in several groups discussing the cancellation. Pulling out her phone, she texted the news to her family and immediately texts started coming back.

_I'm so sorry Nell. _Her mom said.

_Just heard the news, you ok. _ Came one of her brothers.

Her father was none too pleased by the news. _They should have done this sooner. I know how much you wanted to run this Nell. Call me later._ She was expecting this considering her father was a Navy Admiral. He felt the people affected took priority over a marathon and said this to her back on Monday. Leave it to her father to be right on this one.

And it went on for a few minutes. Finally Nell looked at her watch, it was 5:40 p.m., 2:40 p.m. in LA. So she dialed Hetty's number.

* * *

_Los Angeles_

Everyone was working in the mission. Eric was upstairs in OPS while G, Sam, Kensi and Deeks, were out to lunch and Hetty was in her office. Eric nearly jumped out of his chair when he heard, "They WHAT!" from his boos downstairs. It took everyone a minute to recover from Hetty's outburst. "Wonder what that was all about," one of the other tech said out loud.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out." Spoke up Eric as he got up and went downstairs. He found several people gathered around the flat screen in the main area watching ZNN. At that moment the others arrived.

"What's going on," Eric asked.

"They cancelled the Marathon," spoke up one of the other agents.

"it's about time," spoke up Sam. He hadn't been none too pleased to hear that the Marathon was still going on earlier this week despite the damage on Staten Island and other parts of New York City.

"I'd say that was the right call," spoke up Callen.

"I heard not all the runners have not been able to make it there,' said Deeks.

In her office Hetty was on the phone.

"After busting our chops to get you there, they decide to cancel it 30 hours before the race! Maybe we should just shoot the whole lot of them for this." Hetty was saying on the phone.

"_I know,"_ came Nell's voice on the other end.

"Are you going to stay there then,"

"_Yes, I'm going to volunteer and help the survivors instead. I'll be back on Wednesday."_

"Very admirable of you Miss Jones. But we could use you back here,"

"_No Hetty this is something I want to do. If something comes up, I'll head for the office out here."_

"Very well then, see you Wednesday."

Hanging up the phone, she got up to join everyone who was watching the news. Not to thrilled that her protégé's dream of running on Sunday had just been shattered. But then Hetty had a thought as she listened to the announcer on ZNN say that all this year's runners will be automatically entered into next year's race. _You will run next year Nell._ And Hetty would make sure Nell had the time off to do it.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter.

Enjoy

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Chapter 4

_Sunday, November 4, 2012_

_Staten Island, New York_

"Where can we put these cases of bottled water?" asked Kate one of Nell's friends. The group was busy loading supplies into their car to take to survivors and those left homeless by Superstorm Sandy.

"Here, give those to me," came Nell's reply. Taking the cases of water and cramming them into the middle of the backseat. One case she set on the floor behind the driver's seat which was where she normally sat. She really didn't need the room considering she was the smallest out of the four of them. She could just easily just set her feet on top of the case when they drove out anyway. The car was packed to the gills with food, water, toiletries and blankets. Other runners were doing the same thing, packing vehicles with emergency supplies and clothing as well. They would all be fanning out into the affected areas to distribute them. Of course time was of the essence here, the weather was expected to get colder and snow was in the forecast. They all knew the residents of Staten Island needed these supplies and as much help as they can get before Mother Nature put a halt to the cleanup process for a day or so. The plan for the day was to distribute the supplies and help with the cleanup.

Once everyone was ready and the vehicles packed. Nell squeezed into the backseat and after snapping her seatbelt into place placed her backpack on her lap which contained some toiletries to distribute. Driving through the island, they couldn't believe the damage. "It looks like a tornado came through here instead of a hurricane." Nell's friend Matt was saying.

"Or a war zone," replied Nell thinking about the news footage she'd seen of Katrina and other war torn areas where buildings were leveled and debris was everywhere.

"I didn't think a hurricane could do so much damage," spoke up Kate as they drove through the area they were given.

"Yeah," spoke up Nikki from the front passenger seat.

It was a surreal scene everywhere they went that day. Debris everywhere, people digging through the damage finding salvageable belongings and so on. They distributed the supplies at emergency shelters, helped serve food, and of course helped residents pull out waterlogged items from their homes. It was tough work but it made Nell feel a little better knowing that she was doing something to help those in need and it kept her mind off the cancelled marathon. Looking back later Nell realized that cancelling the marathon had been the right call. It also gave the runners a chance to help out the local communities affected by a storm that had caught everyone by surprise.

What she saw that day would stay with her for the rest of her life. Her family would be proud of her for doing this. Her relatives who were in the military had seen some tough spots all over the world and so they would understand why she was doing this. In fact the entire Jones clan would have been out here volunteering for the cleanup no matter what. Nell had grown up working in community projects wherever her father was stationed and so she had a strong sense of wanting to help those in need. She already had a project in mind for Christmas back in Los Angeles so this helping out here on Staten Island was second nature to her.

Working for NCIS had forced her to be creative in doing community projects in LA since their jobs in OSP were so demanding and that everyone was expected to drop everything in a high profile-high crisis case. Hetty expected everyone's mind to be on work and not on their personal lives. But Nell had realized that this couldn't work for everyone so her family, doing community projects, and running marathons kept her moral compass grounded and made her realize that there was more to life than just being an agent.

At the end of the day, she was exhausted and crashed on the bed in her hotel room happy that she was able to do something productive here in New York. On Tuesday, she would be heading back to Los Angeles and would have to begin the process of preparing to run the New York Marathon in 2013.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Here's the latest Chapter.

Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 5

_Five months later_

It was a quiet morning in the mission when Nell arrived. She had been up early to do her run and now was in the office. Hetty was already there but the others hadn't arrived yet. Nell figured she'd enjoy the quiet while it lasted. Once Deeks showed up, the quiet would disappear fast.

At around 10 in the morning, everyone's attention was on one person as he made his way to Hetty's office. Assistant Director Owen Granger was in the building and everyone knew it. If Granger was here, then something was up. The two spoke in the office and it had left Nell trying to figure out what the two were talking about. She wasn't the only one. Kensi was trying to read Hetty's lips, while Sam and G were busy betting whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Eric was watching the whole thing play out from OPS on the large screen. But it wasn't just them, it was the entire building.

* * *

"Whoever is blackmailing this commander is very smart and very clever. Whoever it is, knows what he is doing at all times. So pulling him out of the Boston Marathon next week is out of the question." Granger was explaining. "Only problem is the members of the team assigned to him in San Diego have no marathon experience. I need your help to track down and assign a couple of agents to run this marathon with him so that at least we have him covered while we handle the case here. You wouldn't happen to know anyone would you?"

Hetty was silent for a moment and Granger thought she wouldn't have the answer to that question. But then, "Actually Owen, we have one person in this office who is a veteran marathon runner. I also believe that our agency has several others scattered across our entire agency. Let me see what I can do."

"Do I know the one here?"

"Actually you do. But not everyone knows she's a runner."

One of Granger's eyebrows lifted in mild surprise. "Oh."

Picking up the phone, Hetty dialed an extension. "Miss Jones, could you come to my office please." She hung up the phone after hearing the young woman's reply. A moment later Nell was at the door. "come on in Miss Jones and close the door."

Closing the door she took a seat next to Granger wondering what this was all about.

"Miss Jones, I have an assignment for you that involves your knowledge of running marathons, I'll let Assistant Director Granger explain the situation to you."

Nell listened to Granger present the case that the San Diego MCRT was involved in and realized that the victim could not deviate from his planned schedule which included the Boston Marathon for which he was set to run in a week. "Would you be willing to run in Boston with him," Granger asked after explaining the case.

"I'm not registered to run in Boston. I would have qualified for this race if I had run the New York Marathon back in November but I never got the chance to."

Granger thought back to November and it clicked in his head. It had been cancelled due to Superstorm Sandy. "New York, it was cancelled two days before the run, right."

Nell nodded, "Yes, I was at the Jarvis Center in New York picking up my race packet when we all got the news."

"Believe me Owen you wouldn't believe the headaches I went through to try and get her there just days after that damned storm hit," Hetty spoke up.

"I believe it, New York should have cancelled that marathon a lot earlier then they did. I'm still wondering why they waited so long to cancel it in the first place," Granger was saying.

"Your guess is as good as mine," spoke up Nell. "A lot of runner hadn't made it to New York by that Friday before the race because of transportation issues."

"Yeah I remember, what a nightmare."

"I saw it first-hand."

"You can tell me the story later, now back to our case. Is it still possible for you to register for Boston," Granger asked.

"I know Agent Bill Carson, he's the head of one of the teams in our DC office and is racing in Boston. I can get in touch with him about getting me in."

"Better yet, how about we get Carson and his team to help us with this. Nell and Agent Carson can run with our commander, and the rest of his team can be back-up," suggested Hetty.

"Jones, I'm starting to like you already. Let's do this then, let's read Carson's team in and make this a joint operation with our San Diego MCRT since they have the lead on this. We can get Carson to help us get Nell registered for Boston and while Carson, Jones and Commander Ingram are running this race, his team to monitor them while they run. We'll also notify our office in Newport, Rhode Island for any additional support that will be needed in Boston."

"Sounds like a plan, then," spoke up Hetty. Ms. Jones contact Agent Carson in DC and inform him of what you need while Granger and I here contact Director Vance and set up a video conference with the Director, Carson's Team. San Diego MCRT. And our office in Newport."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Nell got up and left the office closing the door.

"Hetty you alright with me borrowing her for this."

"Yes I am Owen."

Granger nodded, Nell Jones was a lot tougher and smarter than everyone thought and was a rising star in the agency. "Then let's get to work."

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"I wonder what's going on in there," Kensi was saying to no one in particular. The team was discussing the unusual sight of Hetty's office door being closed and Nell and Granger in the office with her. It had the entire building buzzing.

"Maybe it's just a meeting to discuss intel," speculated Sam.

"Or they could be discussing evaluations on us," came Deeks.

"No it has to be something else, why else would they have Nell in there," Sam was saying.

"Another case," said Callen.

The conversation went on like this. Eric had even called asking if anyone knew anything. It seemed like ages before the door opened and Nell came out scurrying to her own desk not even noticing the multiple pair of eyes watching her.

After a few more minutes, Granger came out his cell phone to his ear while leaving the door open and they could all see Hetty on the phone. "Something's up," chimed in Sam.

They kept glancing Hetty's way from time to time while working on paperwork. Then Eric came downstairs. "Anyone know why Hetty's setting up a major conference call," he asked.

"What do you mean," Kens glanced up from her paperwork.

"Try, this office, San Diego, DC and Newport," replied the blonde.

"That is major," Sam said setting his pen down.

"Yeah, I wonder if it has anything to do with Nell," wondered Callen.

"What do you mean," asked the geek.

"She was in the office with Hetty and Granger. We have no idea what is going on since the door was closed," callen was saying.

"Maybe it's a case from another office and they're using ours to run the operation. It's been quiet around here lately," speculated Eric.

"Well your guess is as good as mine," Sam was saying. "It isn't the first time this has happened. Besides, I kinda like the quiet moment we're having right now."

"Yeah, no bad guys to chase, no dodging bullets. That kind of thing," said Deeks.

"Yeah exactly," replied Sam. "Besides, Michelle would rather have me in one piece anyway."

"Well I'm going to go ask anyway," Callen spoke getting out of his chair. He made his way to Hetty's office and hung at the entrance until Hetty finished her call.

She knew Callen was there and why. Apprarently Owen Granger's arrival had sparked everyone's curiosity. "Yes, Mr. Callen."

"Is there something going on we should know about," he asked matter-of-factly.

"Now why do you say that."

"Well, it seems that whenever Granger is in the building, there's a case."

"Not this time, Mr. Callen."

Callen's right eyebrow rose.

"Apparently Granger was asking if I knew of any agents with a particular set of skill. It's for a case out of San Diego, so I was abliged to assist."

"So it doesn't involve us, then."

"That's right Mr. Callen. We do not have a case. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a conference call in OPS." Indicating the conversation was over and getting out of her chair. She walked passed Callen and headed straight for the stairs.

Callen made his way back to his desk and before he could take his seat Sam spoke. "So we don't have a case then?"

"No we don't, Granger was asking for agents with a specific skill for a case out of San Diego. So it's not ours."

"Now I wonder what kind of skill you would need for that case then," Deeks said his interest piqued.

"I don't know but whatever it is it doesn't involve us and so we just do our thing here which is finish paperwork," Callen said to no one in particular.

"So I guess they don't need a sniper," chimed in Kensi.

"No guy with undercover experience," said Deeks.

"No SEAL training," spoke of Sam.

"Then what," Deeks asked.

"I don't know and don't care, so let's finish this paperwork and for once I'll be happy to get out of here on time," Callen said returning to the pile on his desk.

* * *

_A short Time Later_

Hetty, Granger and Nell were now in OPS waiting for the call to begin. The three were gathered around the table. "Carson can get me in he actually knows someone there. I also briefed him on the case out of San Diego so Carson and his team are in."

"Very good," came Hetty.

At that moment, a tech spoke up, "Sir, we're ready."

"Go ahead," replied Granger eyeing everyone in OPS one more time. They all understood not a word was to be spoken. Even Eric had been moved to a corner console and out of sight. The death glare from Hetty was enough to keep him quiet. He was in trouble again over the dress code already.

The large screen was split into three images. One had Director Vance and Carson's team from HQ, another the head of the Newport office, the last one had the San Diego Team. Vance began with greeting everyone and there were acknowledging nods all around. "I understand that Agent Cortez's team has a case right now that's going to require borrowing Agent Carson's team here and and Agent Jones out of OSP."

"Yes Leon, that's correct. With some assistance from our office in Newport," replied Granger.

"Agent Carson gave me a brief synopsis before we began this call. So why don't you and Agent Cortez fill me in on the case."

So Granger and Cortez spoke giving Vance and the head of the Newport office the full lowdown on the case out of San Diego. Once the full brief was over, Vance spoke again. "So in order to ensure the security of Commander Ingram while not deviating from his scheduled run in the Boston Marathon, You need Agents who have marathon experience to run with him until we can catch this so called blackmailer."

"That's correct sir," replied Granger.

"Agent Carson, I'm aware you are running in Boston, you alright with this," asked Vance.

"Yes sir I am and my team will provide back-up for us in Boston. Along with some logistical support from Newport."

Vance nodded, "I'm aware of at least 10 agents who run marathons in this agency. But if memory serves me right, all of them are either overseas or on a boat somewhere. Except for you and Agent Jones."

"That's right Leon," Hetty spoke up. "That's why I suggested her for this assignment. She has marathon experience."

"I would agree," replied Carson. "Her finish times are equally matched with mine. Now I have no idea what Commander Ingram's times are in a marathon but I suspect that they're closer to ours as well. It would be best to have runners who can run at a pace with the Commander so that there won't be any chance of getting separated in the crowd."

"Uh, just out of curiosity," asked the head of Newport. "But how many people are expected to run Boston this year."

"Something like 29,000," replied Carson. A few whistles could be heard in the background.

"Well not quite as big as New York, but still that's a good sized crowd," replied, Cortez surprised by the number. "And I thought San Diego's was big."

"You ever run a race, Cortez?" asked Carson.

"Just the 5K," she replied.

"That's peanuts compared to a full blown marathon which is 42K," chimed in Nell.

"Nah, I'll stick to the 5K then," replied Cortez. That elicited quite a few chuckles from everyone participating in the conference call.

"Alright then," Vance spoke redirecting everyone's attention to the case at hand. "It looks like Agents Carson and Jones will be running with the Commander while his team runs back-up. Now how does Newport fit in? Jennings"

"In the past Newport has provided agents and other military personnel to assist in security and logistics. That's where we come in. We can assist Agent Carson's team in tracking the three runners in real time while still helping out with security."

"I see," said Vance and Granger.

"And while that's going on, my team can concentrate on tracking down our suspect who is in the wind at the moment and is still active in his threats to Commander Ingram and his wife."

"Will the commander's wife be joining him in Boston," asked Hetty.

"No, she's eight months pregnant and instead will be staying in San Diego. My team is providing security for her," replied Cortez.

"Sounds like you all have everything covered then. Keep me apprised of any changes. And Cortez, let's see if we can find this suspect before Commander Ingram runs Boston," Vance spoke.

"We'll do, sir," she replied.

The call ended and Hetty turned to Nell. "Miss Jones, go ahead and finish up any work you have here today. When you leave at the end of the day, go home and pack, tomorrow, you report to our office in San Diego."

"Yes, Hetty," and Nell walked right out of OPS followed by Hetty and Granger.

As they walked down the stairs, Granger was saying that he would make lodging arrangements for her at Naval Station San Diego.

Eric, sat there not believing that Nell was a marathon runner. He was thinking it was some kind of joke. How could she find the time to train. He knew he couldn't discuss the case with the others unless he wanted to face the wrath of Hetty. But he knew the others wouldn't believe it either that Nell ran marathons.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They all saw Nell come down with Hetty and Granger. Nell quickly went to her desk and resumed working. Granger and Hetty were talking and Deeks who was on his way back to his desk with a cup of coffee heard snit bits as he passed. "I'll have the information for lodging in San Diego shortly for her. As for Boston, we're working on that as well." Granger was saying.

"Yes, well we're fortunate to have people who run marathons in their spare time." Hetty was saying.

"Never thought Jones was a marathoner …. This office is full of surprises."

Heading back to his desk, Marty was puzzled by what they were saying. _Marathon, Boston? Huh._ Was going through his mind as he took his seat.

"Something wrong Deeks," Callen asked.

"No caught snit bits of Granger and Hetty's conversation on the way back. I think Nell is being sent to San Diego. Heard Granger mention something about lodging," the blond was saying.

"Maybe we shouldn't ask," spoke up Sam who was eyeing a report he had just finished.

"Yeah, if Hetty says it's not our case," chimed in Kensi.

"What else did you pick up," Callen asked.

"Something about Boston and marathons," Deeks said.

"Marathons, as in the one that is 26 something miles," Callen said allowed with a question.

Deeks shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Eric came down and he noticed four pairs of eyes looking at him. At that moment Hetty came by as well. "I will expect your reports by the end of the day."

"Almost done with mine Hetty, just proofreading it now," spoke up Sam with a happy chipper in his voice. For once he would be done and caught up for a change.

"Uh, Hetty, what's going on," Callen had to ask.

"Oh, I also have to inform you all that Miss Jones will be working with the San Diego MCRT for at least the next week assisting them on a case."

"Really, Hetty is that necessary,"

"Yes it is Mr. Callen. Occasionally Agents are temporarily reassigned to assist other teams if needed. Not to worry, she'll be back before you know it. Now back to work, I expect those reports on my desk." She ordered and then headed back to her office.

"Eric," Callen spoke eyeing the geek. "You know what's going on?"

"Uh, sorry guys I can't discuss the case. I'm already in enough trouble but did you know Nell runs marathons."

"No,," said Callen.

"Nope," came Sam.

"Sorry I didn't," spoke up Kensi surprised at what Eric said.

"Seriously, she's never said anything, besides I never thought her the runner type," Deeks said eying Eric.

Eric was about to say something when Nell came up and when he realized she was there stopped dead in his tracks. It took him a moment to recover. "Uh, sorry couldn't avoid hearing what you all were saying upstairs."

"Yeah well, you still can't discuss the particulars of the case but yes I'm a runner. And yes I do run marathons."

"No way, you, Nell. Nah don't believe it," spoke up Deeks.

"You, get out of here, Nell you don't look the type," Kensi said not believing it thinking it was a joke.

Even Callen's reaction was not good. "If you're a runner, how come we never see you doing it."

The negative comments continued and Sam realized that it was the truth he could see it in her eyes and it seriously pissed him off that his teammates including Eric wouldn't be happy for the fact that Nell was doing something she loved. Sam thought for a minute and some things started to click in his mind. Last November she was out for a week and to come to think about it was during the time that the New York Marathon was to have been run but it was cancelled. There were other dates too if he really thought about it. Nell was out, but not because she was sick it was because she was running. Sam gave her a knowing nod of approval but he could see the hurt in her eyes by what the others were saying. She left and Sam realized they had all upset her. Finally he decided he had to put a stop to it. "That's enough,"

The four of them looked at the big guy. "What!" came their reply.

"I can't believe you all, we find out that Nell runs marathons and what do you all do. Cut her down for it. You all should be ashamed of yourselves."

"But Sam, she doesn't seem the type," Kensi chimed in.

"Do we have to look the part to know what we do in our off time," he shot back.

"No but if she's a runner why didn't we know about it," asked Callen.

"Maybe it's something she doesn't advertise," Sam shot back. "I can't believe you guys." Sam wanted to say more but instead he got up gathered his printed report and left. Sam found another desk to finish proofreading the report and once it was done handed it to Hetty. He noticed that even Hetty wasn't too happy about the team's reaction to Nell being a runner. So Sam decided to go look for her. He found her in the firing range letting off some shots and nailing them. He figured she was still upset. He waited for her to finish before making his presence know. "You okay."

She shook her head, "I would have thought they would have been happy that I did something that they didn't."

"Nell, I really wish they didn't mean it."

"I know, but what they said."

"Yeah it hurt you."

She nodded again. "Yeah but you weren't upset by the news."

"No it took a minute for things to click. You were in New York back in November weren't you?"

She nodded, "yeah, I had been dreaming of running that marathon for years, only to have it cancelled."

Sam took a moment to think. Nell was not your typical agent, yeah she was bright, smart, and clever. She can weed through information like it was nothing and still manage to have a life outside of work. How she'd manage to pull it off, Sam didn't want to know. Okay, he had to admit to himself, everyone had to be unpredictable with their routines outside of work and be keenly aware of their surroundings. Yeah, every one of them can be predictable in their own way too, but when it came to Nell, she took both predictability and unpredictability to a whole new level. Also, Nell kept her private life fairly close to home so no one knew really much about her. He had to admire her for that. _But run the biggest marathon in the country? She had guts._ Sam was telling himself. So he figured for whatever was going on in San Diego, they needed her knowledge of marathons. So he had to admin that their team would have been out of place there, big time. Sam liked running distances, ever since he was in the SEALs where being able to go at long distances on both land and sea was a necessity. He had done one marathon back when he was in the navy. His training with the SEALs helped with that. But he had never done it again after he left. But still …. Sam sighed, "I know, but no one expected a hurricane to crash the party. So you going to try this year."

"All the runners were automatically entered for this year, so yes I'm going to run it."

"That's cool, Nell. Not all of us have the guts to do something like that. "

"Thanks Sam."

"So how long have you been doing this?"

"I started when I was thirteen, running half-marathons."

"And full marathons?"

"My sophomore year of high school, I started with the small ones and been working my way up."

He nodded, "So to get to New York you had to qualify right."

"Yeah, ran the Los Angeles one to do it."

"Just out of curiosity, but how many marathons do you run a year?"

"Minimum, two, plus I squeeze in a couple of half-marathons in order to keep a pace for the longer races."

"Uh, huh, how do you manage to train, I mean, you need to run so many miles a week."

"35 a week and I vary where I run. I never run the same route twice in a week. I like to shake things up. If the weather is bad, I know of an indoor track I can use or I use the treadmill here."

"Really, with our crazy schedule how do you do it?"

"There's a saying in my family. If you can't find the time, you make the time."

Now Sam liked that phrase. Maybe he should follow that rule more often. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, my dad took that phrase to heart. Whether he was home or out at sea. Why do you think we're so close."

He had heard Nell had a close knit family but had no idea how they'd pulled that off with a parent in the navy. Well he had his answer.

"So you're father would somehow find a way to stay in touch while deployed huh,"

"Would you,"

He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah I would try."

"Sam trying and doing aren't the same thing. You have to be committed to it."

"Maybe you're right. " Okay, he had to admit she was right.

She gave him a look that said duh.

"So Nell, anyone else in your family run?"

"My dad, and one of my brothers," she wasn't about to tell him she was the only girl.

"They ever do a marathon."

"My dad. He still tries to do one a year."

"Oh so you come from a close knit and active family."

"Cool huh,"

"I guess so, so you ever try the Marine Corp Marathon in DC?"

"I ran it with my father for charity when I was in college. You?"

"The one and only real marathon I ran. Most of my running involved long distances with the SEALs while I was in the navy."

"Maybe you should try it again just for fun."

"Maybe I will,"

"Come on Sam we all know you run to keep in shape. You could take it a step further."

"That's what Michelle's been trying to get me to do."

"Let me guess she runs races."

"Yeah, and she's wants to run the LA one next year."

"Why don't you join her then."

"Sounds like fun, maybe I will." A slight smile came to his face just thinking about it. Maybe he would give it a try just for fun.

Nell saw the smile. "Hah, you're thinking about it," and she found it amusing.

He nodded. "Okay, you win. So, I'm cool about you running, I don't know about the others though."

"Yeah,"

"Hey I'll talk to them maybe beat some sense into them if I have to but if this case you're on with San Diego involves you're knowledge of running marathons, that's fine with me."

She nooded.

"Oh, and out of curiosity. If you had run New York, last fall, what would have been your next one?"

"Boston."

"The oldest marathon," he asked.

"Yeah it runs on Monday."

"Now I really hate Superstorm Sandy,"

"You're not the only one but the cancellation wasn't a total loss. My friends and I ended up helping those displaced on Staten Island."

Sam bowed his head to her in approval. "Nell you are just full of surprises. So we cool?"

"Yeah we're cool."

"Come on let's get back upstairs, I know you have some work to finish before you begin that San Diego job while I go try and knock some sense into the others."

The pair made their way upstairs happy that they were in agreement about Nell being a runner and Sam had more respect for Nell then he'd ever thought.

* * *

Until next time.

You are welcome to R&R.


	8. Chapter 8

I hope those readers here in the United States had a good Thanksgiving.

Here's the next chapter

* * *

Chapter 8

_Monday, April 15, 2013_

_Just outside Boston in Hopkinton, MA_

_Start of the Boston Marathon_

She was on the grass doing her warm up routine of stretching her muscles and a little bit of cardio to losen her muscles for the run. Carson and Commander Neil Ingram were doing the same thing in preparation for the run.

The guy wanted in trying to blackmailing Ingram's wife was still on the loose. He was claiming to be the father of the Ingrams' baby which is due in a few weeks and had threatened to come out with the whole thing unless Mrs. Ingram not only pay him to keep quiet but that he be given custody of the baby after it was born. The suspect Dan Mason, had also threatened to get Neil Ingram out of the way if necessary. What the suspect didn't know was that Beth Ingram and her husband had asked for a DNA test to be done on the baby and it had come back confirming that Commander Ingram was the father of the baby and not Mason. But Mason was still out there. Back on Friday, they had noticed that he had made a plane reservation to fly to Boston, but when Cortez and her team arrived at the airport to arrest him in San Diego they discovered that Mason had given his identity to someone else to throw them off his tail. So now they had no idea where he was. He was in the wind. But then yesterday they found a lead putting him near the US-Mexican border so Cortez and her team were at work laying a trap for him back in San Diego. Beth Ingram had been moved to an undisclosed location at Coronado until they could catch the guy.

So they had to proceed with Neil Ingram running the Boston Marathon. Nell had spent the weekend in Newport finalizing logistics with the other agents who would be tracking the three runners hoping that Mason didn't give everyone in San Diego the slip at the last minute and make his way to Boston. No one was taking any chances.

Hetty had briefed Sam on the bare basics of the case with Nell's permission since the others still didn't believe that Nell was a runner and hadn't given up on their disapproval of it. After talking to Hetty this morning, Nell knew that Hetty was ready to strangle the lot of them.

As Nell finished her warm-up, she was busy getting herself mentally prepared for the race. But this wasn't a normal race this time. This time it was part of her job and so instead of concentrating on the run itself and taking in the surroundings as she would make her way through the race route, she was now having to worry about Commander Ingram. For her, this was her first real assignment out in the field but Nell had a good team to work with here, over the weekend as they prepared, Carson and his team had worked with Nell on honing her skills in scanning the area for threats and she had the chance to spar with them in the gym in order to stay in top shape. Even Sam had called with some helpful advice as well. Nell was a little nervous about this but she knew she had people who had her back. What wasn't helping was the warm weather Boston was having today. That might be a problem, but Nell was hoping it really wasn't going to be. It just felt like a normal warm day in LA when she would do her runs but today was a full blown 26.2 miles in this weather. She was seriously going to need a shower after the race she already knew.

Warm up done, they joined other runners to begin making their way to the start point for the race. With so many people running the three found themselves in a sea of people. They had discussed and made a plan for staying together and keeping each other in their line of sight. "Let's see if we can get this done in under three-and-a-half hours," spoke up Ingram.

"I'm there," replied Carson. "Besides, it's too warm out here."

"Yeah, but the good thing is that we're going downhill."

"That will help," replied Ingram.

"Then let's do it," came Carson as the readied themselves and were waiting for the race to begin.

NCISLA

_Los Angeles_

Sam had come in early and was now at his desk. He had been up really early this morning and had done his run, made sure his daughter's lunch was made and ready when Michelle sent her off to school and now was at work. He wasn't the only one in. Hetty was too. He stopped by her office to see that she was already working. "Morning Hetty."

"Good morning Sam," she replied. "Did you have a good weekend?"

"Yeah I did, thanks. Has the race begun?"

"It's about to start. Granger is keeping me updated with updates from our agents out there. If you'd like, I'll send them to you as well."

"Yes, please Hetty, thank you."

"Very good."

Sam nodded and made his way to his desk. It was going to be a long morning hoping that nothing goes wrong for the team Nell is working with in Boston.

Shortly after, everyone else began arriving. They were all surprised to see Sam there. Sam ignored them as he worked on his paperwork. They had a minor case back on Friday and so today was just wrapping up things.

Sam lost track of time as he did his work only checking the time whenever he got updates on the race in Boston. He was checking up on some intel when phone buzzed and he checked it. It was a text from Hetty. _**Suspect has been arrested in San Diego.**_ Sam smiled. They finally caught the guy. He had been giving everyone down there the slip all weekend. He was glad it was finally over. But Nell was still running in Boston. _Guess they'll find out when they cross the finish._ Then he was wondering how far along she had run when another text came in _**Just passed mile 22.**_ They were down to the final leg of the race. He and Hetty had been getting updates on the progress of the run since he came in this morning. _They must be making good time. _ He thought to himself. Nell had told him that she could normally do a race in a little over three hours her best time was 3 hours 9 minutes which wasn't bad for a woman. When Sam had asked what the qualifying time was for Boston that Nell would have to meet, Hetty had written it down and showed it to Sam a few days back. He was floored. So if Nell had run New York last fall she would have qualified. It just seemed that his respect for the young red head was growing day by day on him. Yet he was still angry that the others couldn't accept it.

NCISLA

_Boston_

They had just passed the 23rd mile mark and enjoying it.

"Looks like we'll be finishing this at a little over three hours," spoke up Neil Ingram.

"Yeah, we're making really good time,' came Carson who was slightly ahead of Ingram.

"I'd contribute it to the downhill route," came Nell.

"Could be but we're doing better than we thought," came Ingram.

"Yeah, so far so good," replied Carson who was scanning the crowd.

Nell thought that she would have a hard time concentrating on running and keeping an eye on Ingram, Carson and the crowd. But it wasn't really that bad. The running part was automatic so using her other senses especially her eyes was relatively easy. Besides the advice she was given was pretty good. _Just look for anything out of place. _Well things were looking good so far. No sign of Mason. As they were coming up to the 24th mile marker, they angled to the left to get some water. Grabbing the cups from the volunteers who were holding the cups out for them, they quickly downed the liquid as they ran tossing the cups aside as they continued running. They were almost done and then Nell can head back to their hotel for a much needed shower.

NCISLA

_Low Angeles_

Sam was coming back from his break when his phone buzzed. Checking the text he had to smile. _**Crossed the finish line.**_ They were done. Sam was doing the math in his head. They must have finished a little over three hours after they had started. He'll ask Nell when she got back what the official time was. But at least they'll get the news about the arrest now. So he went back to work looking at the latest watch lists and committing the new names and faces to memory. He liked keeping up with who was now wanted and wanted to do harm to the US. It kept his mind busy.

NCISLA

_Boston_

They were headed for their cars after clearing the finish area and collecting their unofficial finish times. The rest of Carson's team was waiting for them. One of the agents handed their phones back to them and Ingram immediately began calling his wife. "Beth it's me, I finished the race and I'm on my way back to the hotel." Nell could only hear his side of the conversation but that was okay with her. They had all been told about the arrest. "Yeah honey, I heard the news. I'm glad it's over. … Beth you okay. … What! … Uh, okay." They all waited for an explanation.

"Hey Ingram, everything okay," asked Carson.

Putting a hand to the phone he spoke a little nervousness in his voice. "Hard kick from the baby."

"Looks like someone else is excited about the news," came Jim, one of the other team members.

"Yeah, that kid is going to hear quite a story when he or she grows up," spoke up Jenna another member.

They quickly made their way back to the hotel and the three runners went to their rooms to shower and get changed. Nell was toweling her wet hair dry when she heard the explosion that stopped her dead in her tracks. Jenna whom she was sharing the room with stood bolt upright. She could hear someone shouting in the hallway. "What the hell was that!"

* * *

Until next time.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The explosion sent everyone scurrying into action. Nell finished getting dressed tossing the towel on the bed and then they heard another explosion. "That's not good," Jenna spoke. Jenna had been at HQ the day Harper Dearing set off that bomb in Vance's car. That was a day she would never forget. But something told her that whatever just happened was about to topple that experience big time. Heading for the door, "I'm going to check with the others."

"Okay, meet you in the hall in a sec," Nell said finishing what she was doing.

A few moments later Nell stepped into the hall to find everyone there. Carson was on the phone. "Yeah, got it."

Everyone stood there listening and when Carson ended the call they all knew something major had happened. He signaled for everyone to gather in his room. Once the door was closed, he spoke, "Looks like two bombs went off at the finish line. It's chaos over there." It seemed everyone had a colorful reaction. "Commander you don't mind heading back to San Diego today do you?"

"Actually no,"

"Good let's see if we can get you on a flight out of here today. Jenna call Newport and see if they have any transport heading out west later if not we'll see about getting a commercial flight for Commander Ingram. The rest of us, we're waiting on word but be ready to join in the investigation if we're called to."

"That means we're heading to Newport," asked Jim.

"Depends on what comes down. I'm going to call Vance and our Newport office to see what our orders are. In the meantime, everyone pack. We're going to need to be ready to check out if we have to."

"Got it," everyone replied.

Nell went back to her room and finished putting on her makeup and then began packing her stuff. Her suitcase is going to smell from the clothes she'd been wearing from the run earlier but right now she didn't care. Depending on what Vance says and if it's okay with Hetty, she would most likely be staying out this way.

NCISLA

_Los Angeles_

_30 minutes later_

Someone had turned on the big plasma in the main area for the local noon news. Sam was eating his lunch when the breaking news came out. He quickly grabbed the remote and put it on ZNN. It was there too. _"Two explosions went off at the finish line at the Boston Marathon." _The commentator was saying as images began coming in. Sam didn't think twice. He headed for Hetty's office. She was already on the phone. She saw him and held up her hand to indicate he wait, "That's fine with me Owen. " He could hear her say. "and Commander Ingram? … Okay I can have someone meet him here at LAX and take him home. Not a problem. … Keep me informed."

Hanging up the phone, she sighed in relief. "They were already back at their hotel when the explosions occured. "

Sam let loose the breath he was holding. "So Nell's okay then?"

"Yes she's fine and she won't be coming home tomorrow as planned. Vance has asked that she work with our Newport office and other investigators on what happened out there.

"So what do they think it was?"

"Two bombs Sam."

In the main area the rest of the team was watching the coverage on the plasma. Not realizing that Sam was talking to Hetty.

"You mean someone set off two bombs at the Boston Marathon," Sam couldn't believe it.

"Yes, and from what I hear, FBI, ATF and others are quickly sending agents to Boston. Miss Jones and the team from headquarters that were already there are being told to stay put."

"That's why she's staying, makes sense she's one of our best Intelligence Analysts," said Sam. "I don't know if Eric's going to survive any longer without her here."

"Well he'd better and so should the rest of them," referring to the rest of the team."This should give them all some more time to think about their actions last week towards Miss. Jones."

Sam thought about it for a moment. "I guess you're right Hetty. But they still haven't let up." Which was true, Nell had told Sam that Hetty was ready to strangle them all. "Maybe it might be time for a major intervention."

"I'm not even sure that will work Sam. They're all too thick skulled."

"It's worth a try and we'd better do it before Nell get's back."

"We'll see, now onto other matters. Since the case in San Diego is closed, they're flying Commander Ingram who was the naval officer they were protecting to LAX he should be arriving this evening. Will you be willing to pick him up and drive him home to San Diego?"

Sam thought for a moment, there was nothing major going on tonight at home and he would have to let Michelle know. "Sure let me talk to Michelle just to be sure."

"Give her my regards, and tell her that we'll try and get you home on time the rest of this week."

"thanks Hetty," leaving the office he already had his phone to his ear. _This was going to be a long day, _Sam knew but he was hoping that the rest of the week went well for him too. He was holding Hetty to her promise.

Meanwhile in the mail area, "Two explosions, sounds like bombs to me," Deeks was saying. "But who would want to bomb a marathon."

"Well, let's see, it's one of the oldest and most prestigious of marathons around and It attracts top athletes from all over," Kensi was saying.

"When did you become knowledgeable about marathons," asked Callen.

"Had a friend who was a runner," came her reply.

"That wouldn't be Nell would it," he said.

"No, it's not. Besides, I still don't believe she's a runner."

"Well, speaking of Nell, where is she anyway," asked Deeks.

"Probably still in San Diego, would be my guess," said Callen. "Eric you heard from her lately?"

"No, she hasn't been returning my calls or texts. I know she's been in touch with Hetty though," the blonde spoke.

After getting off the phone with Michelle, Sam returned to Hetty's office picking up the conversation on the way there. Appearing at the door Hetty acknowledged him. "Yes, Mr. Hannah."

"Michelle says its fine with her. So I'll go ahead and pick up Commander Ingram from LAX. Do you have the flight information yet," he asked.

"They're making the arrangements now and the Commander is on his way to Boston Logan Airport as we speak. I'll let you know the information and provide you with a photograph when I receive it."

"Thanks Hetty,"

"You're welcome Sam," but then winced at the conversation that was taking place in the main area. Others in the building had also voiced their displeasure at the negative talk about Nell and from what they could hear, everyone had had enough.

"That intervention you spoke of earlier Sam," spoke up Hetty.

"Yeah Hetty, what about it?"

"It's time we did something about that awful noise out there," she said getting up from her chair. "Let's inform the other's about Miss Jones's delay and put a stop to the language out there."

Sam nodded as the two made their way over to the group of gathered agents. The conversations ended when everyone noticed Hetty.

"Hetty, do you know when Nell will be back," asked Callen.

"Miss Jones return has been delayed. The case in San Diego has been closed but she is now needed in Boston for the immediate future."

"Excuse me Hetty," Callen asked.

"You heard me Mr. Callen," replied the petite woman.

"So when does she leave for Boston," Eric had to ask.

"She's already there," replied Hetty.

"Wait, I thought she was in San Diego," came Deeks surprised at the new information.

"That explains why she hadn't been returning my calls," muttered Eric.

"Hetty what's going on here, I thought the case she was working on was in San Diego," Callen spoke not to amused.

"The case did originate in San Diego and they closed it earlier today," replied Hetty. "But with any case, things change in this case necessitating that Miss Jones had to go to Boston."

"Did this case have something to do with the Boston Marathon," asked Kensi. "That would explain why Granger was out here last week."

"And looking for people with marathon knowledge and experience," continued Eric.

"Why would you all care, all you four have been doing since learning that Nell runs marathons has been cutting her down and behind her back too." Sam spoke not too happy with them.

"That's a very good point Mr. Hannah, and it stops here."

"But Hetty …" spoke up Callen.

"Let me make myself clear to all of you. Whatever you all do in your off time is your business. Now let me ask you something, Has anyone complained or much less cut you down for activities you do outside of work. Say you Mr. Deeks and Mr. Beale. We all know you two like to surf. Now that's a good way to work off stress and it allows you to have something you like to do outside of work. Is that true?"

"Uh, yeah Hetty," answered Eric uncomfortably.

"What about you Mr. Deeks?"

"Well yeah, but …"

"No buts, Miss Jones has found an outlet that suits her outside of this office. She may not look the part but she has found something she enjoys tremendously. Mr. Hannah, what do you like to do outside of work besides spending time with your family," Hetty asked.

"Shooting hoops and going to Lakers games," replied Sam with a slight smile on his face.

"And none of them have complained about it or talked about you're activities behind your back in a disparaging way?"

"No."

"And yet here we are in this awful mess over Miss Jones' running races. I expected a lot more out of you all but apparently not. And until this stops, I might have to pull people off this team because of this situation."

"Hetty!" came a chorus of voices.

"No, instead of appreciating Miss Jones asset to this team, you have chosen not to accept that she has a skill that could be invaluable to us. That is unacceptable."Hetty said in a very sern disproving voice. It left Eric Deeks and Kensi wincing and Callen still had a defiant look on his face. "So until further notice," Hetty continued. "Miss Jones has been reassigned to the East Coast until the situation in Boston is resolved."

"Hetty …" Callen tried to speak.

"No Mr. Callen, not another word. Until Miss Jones returns to us I suggest you use the time wisely to think about your actions towards Miss Jones. If I have too, I will stand this team down and since Mr. Hanna has been the only one to come to his senses, It stands that he is the only active agent on this team at this point."

"You're standing us down," Kensi blurted out in surprise.

"Yes, I am." Hetty replied. "You are all assigned to desk duty for the rest of the week and Mr. Deeks. I will be sending you back to LAPD for the remainder of the week."

The shocked looks on their faces got no sympathy from Sam or any of the other agents and personnel who were witnessing this exchange in the main area.

"And Mr. Beale. You will not be working in OPS for the remainder of the week either. You will be working down here."

Eric looked like he was going to die of a heart attack. _Banned from OPS for the rest of the week!_ He couldn't believe it. What was he going to do down here.

"Now everyone back to work, and Mr. Beale I have a space for you to do your work." Indicating an area around the corner. "Mr. Hannah with me please. I believe we have some things to discuss."

Sam and Hetty left four very stunned people standing there while those who had witnessed the exchange gave Sam broad smiles and thumbs up.

NCISLA

_Boston_

_Later that day_

Nell along with Carson's team and a team of agents from Newport were in the command center that had been established as a result of the bombing. They had put Commander Ingram on a flight to LAX not too long after the bombing so he was now on his way home. Nell had briefed the commander on who would be picking him up when he arrived to take him home.

The command center was rapidly filling up with federal law enforcement from the alphabet soup if you can call it that. The place was a beehive of activity as plans were made on how to handle the investigation, the evidence, and tips that would be coming in. Nell suspected that the following days would be busy as everyone from NCIS along with others hoped to put the pieces together and find out who the bomber of bombers are. She was ready for this, putting her training to the test in a high profile case. Which for her was her first and she knew she was ready for it.

Nell was sitting at a station with Jenna and the two women were busy looking through some of the footage that had already been gathered so far from street cams, television broadcasts, and what had been posted on the internet so far. It was going to be a long night she knew as she continued going through the video footage.

NCISLA

_LAX_

Sam had left the mission early in order to make it to LAX to meet Commander Ingram when he arrived from Boston. Rush hour as usual was a mess but he had arrived early and was waiting in the arrivals area outside of security for him. Callen had tried to sneak out early but had been caught by Hetty and was now still at the office. Sam knew his partner was curious as to what Hetty had him doing but at least she was one step ahead of Callen since he was now grounded to a desk.

The plane landed on time and Neil Ingram made his way to the exit. Nell Jones had informed him that an agent would be meeting him at LAX to take him home even providing him with his name and a photo. After exiting the secure area he found Agent Hannah waiting for him. "Agent Hannah."

"Commander, how was your flight?"

"Good, thank you."

Indicating the bag Ingram was carrying he asked, "Is this all your bags?"

"Yes it is, I pack light when I take trips like this."

Sam nodded. "I do the same thing. So let's get you home."

"Sure thing, I can't wait to get back to my wife. She'll definitely be glad to see me now that I'm out of Boston."

They were heading for the parking lot to Sam's car as they spoke. "Yeah, I'd be worried too if either myself or my wife had been there."

"So any more news, when I left it was confusion and chaos. They were clearing downtown Boston and I heard there were a lot of injured and no sure number of how many dead."

"Yeah, before I left the office, Nell called."

"Agent Jones, yes, she said she was out of the office here."

"Yes she is, well so far there was way over a hundred injured and still counting. The walking wounded are still turning up at hospitals. Up to eight dead.

"Oh God, before I boarded the plane, I was watching tv coverage at the gate they said the bombs went off by the finish line. I remember seeing kids there. A lot of people waiting for loved ones to finish the race. I'm glad Beth wasn't there."

"You're wife,"

"Yeah, pregnant with our first child due in three weeks. That's why she didn't travel with us."

Sam was thankful that Mrs. Ingram didn't either. "Congradulations."

"Thank you,"

"Well, one of the dead is a boy, that makes me sick to my stomach. It could have been one of my kids. I'm just glad they're safe at home right now.'

"Same here, so how many kids do you have?"

"Two,"

"Good number. We were lucky we finished the race almost an hour before the bombs went off."

Sam was now driving the car out of the airport. He stopped to pay the parking fee and continued on.

"Yeah, I heard, so it was a good finish?"

"Yes it was, I had no idea that NCIS had agents that ran marathons. Agents Jones and Carson were good. Once the race started, we had established a pace that allowed us to stay together the entire race and finished in three hours ten minutes roughly."

Sam nodded. _Whish the other's could appreciate this._ "So it was a good run then."

"It was considering it was warmer day than usual in Boston. So yes it was a good run."

The two men continued talking while driving down I-5 to San Diego. At one point they did turn on the radio to catch the latest update on the news but eventually turned it off. Traffic was a little heavy and it took over an hour and a half to reach San Diego. After dropping the Commander safely back at his home Sam made the long drive back north to his house where he suspected Michelle had his dinner waiting for him.

* * *

Until next time.


	10. Chapter 10

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas.

A/N: I won't be posting the next chapter until next weekend at the earliest I'm going to be enjoying Christmas instead.

* * *

Chapter 10

_Boston_

_Early in the morning_

_Wednesday, April 17, 2013_

"There has got to be a way to get more footage of these two areas," Jenna was saying to no one in particular.

"What do you mean," asked Carson. The NCIS agents were gathered in around a table drinking coffee. They were taking a quick morning break from the investigation. The nine people had commandeered a table and were just sitting around talking.

"Well, Nell and I have practically gone through every inch of video that we have gathered so far but we still don't have a good look at whoever planted those bombs. I mean the angle is all wrong."

"Yeah, I've seen some of that footage," spoke up Jim. "She's right."

"Maybe not," came Nell.

"You got something Jones," asked Davis the team leader from Newport.

"Well, I noticed a lot of spectators with cameras and cell phones out taking pictures of the runners back on Monday," she was saying.

"So did I," said Carson.

"Wait, she's right," spoke up a few more voices from the group.

"I noticed it too, while we were tracking you guys," spoke up Andy another member from Newport.

"So you're saying," asked Bill.

"People who were taking pictures of the runners at the finish line may have caught the bombers faces," Nell spoke confidently.

"Holy crap she is onto something," replied Jenna. "Why didn't we think of that Monday night!"

"Because we assumed that the street cams may have caught a look at their faces. But they didn't."

"Oh, hell," came Jim's reply while there were a few more groans.

"So what if a call is put out to those who were at the finish line around the time that the bombs went off to give us those pictures, those people may have a picture of them and no one realized it," Nell continued.

"She's right," came Davis.

"Sure is," said Carson.

The whole group erupted into conversation as to how to approach the head of the investigation with the idea and get the call out for pictures. Finally Carson and Davis agreed that they would do it while everyone else went back to what they were doing until the pictures started coming in.

"Hey," asked Andy. "Where does our agency find all these geniuses anyway?"

"Dunno," replied Stacey another member from Newport. "I know the DC MCRT has one and LA OSP has her," indicating Nell. "But I'm not complaining.

"Neither am I," said Jim. "As long as they don't end up at FBI."

"Here here," came a chorus of voices as everyone got up to get back to work while Carson and Davis went to discuss the plan with the lead investigators.

NCISLA

_Los Angeles OSP_

_Early afternoon Pacific Daylight Time_

Ever since the bombing in Boston back on Monday, the TV in the main area has been on ZNN non-stop at OSP. People were stopping to check for updates as ZNN was providing coverage from Boston 24/7. Callen, Kensi, and Eric were going absolutely crazy. Being grounded to desk duty and Eric banned from OPS meant that they really couldn't do anything but paperwork. Eric especially looked lost not being able to use the systems upstairs. He was able to get some work done but the paper work Hetty had him doing was not only boring but putting the techie to sleep in the process. For Kensi, the mountain of papers on her desk was rapidly disappearing as she caught up on her load while Callen's didn't seem to go anywhere earning stern looks from Hetty that could kill. Deeks it seemed was fairing a little better. At the moment he was back at LAPD. He was put to work immediately helping out in a minor sting operation that was in progress. For him it was better than being stuck at a desk all the time.

Sam at the moment was in Hetty's office. They had just heard the news about the call out for pictures anyone took at the finish line of the marathon back on Monday. Nell was on the speaker phone as she was givng Hetty an update on how things were going in Boston.

"Never thought of that one," Sam was saying.

"Same here," replied Hetty. "But it does make sense. You can't go anywhere these days without your phone and since they have a camera it is likely that someone did catch a picture of the bombers."

"_Come on Sam, haven't you ever pulled out your phone to take a picture of your kids or Michelle doing something in the spur of the moment," _came Nell's voice from the phone.

"Yeah a couple of times and of course we do it a lot when we're on a case too."

"Precisely, so it stands that someone might have inadvertently caught a shot of these bastards," spoke Hetty."

"_Yeah and it's going to take time. There're going to be quite a bit of footage coming in,"_

"So you and the other agent that was with you saw a lot of people with phones and cameras back on Monday," Sam asked.

"_Yeah we did, and believe me, I wouldn't be surprised if we were snapped crossing the finish line almost an hour before the bombs went off."_

"I see," said Hetty. "You all might have ended as part of the background in anyone's pictures and not have known it. Guess the bombers didn't think of that one."

"_Precisely, and the others noticed it as well all along the race route."_

"I still don't understand why people have to document everything about their lives like that," Sam was saying. "Call me old fashioned I guess."

"That's technology for you Sam." Said Hetty. "You young ones tend to make use of it whether good or bad but in this case it is a good one."

"_Yeah, and we're making full use of it right now."_

"So who's idea was this anyway," Sam asked.

"_A group of federal agents whose agency's first initial happens to start with the letter N. But Boston PD was also getting the same idea as well."_

A smile grew on Sam's face that went from ear to ear. "Well, we do have the best people."

"We sure do," chimed in Hetty. "Miss Jones keep us updated."

"_I will."_

Hetty ended the call and the two nodded. "Well, hopefully they can close this case quickly," Hetty said.

"You know Hetty, me too. It would be nice to have our genius back here. She's surprising us every day."

"Indeed she is Sam. Indeed she is."

NCISLA

Marty Deeks was at his desk doing some serious thinking. The sting was over and some major drug dealers in the area have been put out of commission since they were all now in the LAPD lockup at the moment. Instead of doing the paperwork, he was thinking about what Sam and Hetty had said the other day and was now mentally kicking himself.

_They were right._ He was telling himself. In fact thinking about the whole thing, Not once did Kensi say a word about Deeks volunteering at homeless shelters or he give her a hard time about those fried Snickers she likes to eat. Okay he did tease her a little but stopped after realizing that she loved the things. But why was he having such a hard time believing that Nell ran marathons. Maybe it had something to do with nobody asking about what she did in her off time. Come to think about it, he really didn't know much about her. He had noticed Eric's interest in Nell and his awkward way of trying to impress her over sports or other stuff but Nell just brushed it off. Nell was guarded about her family as well but from what Deeks could gather, she had a close knit family unlike himself and the others on the team. Marty had told himself that one day if he ever started a family that he hoped they would be like Nell's. Of course, Nell is a genius too, she could out-think all of them period. Maybe that's why they didn't think or even wonder over the fact that she did have a life outside of work. But the discovery that she was a runner blindsided him. Nell never gave any indication that she ran at all, just like the rest of her life that no one knew about.

Deeks finally came to the decision that he needed to fix this. He needed to apologize to Nell and hopefully make things right with her. But he couldn't do that now. She was on the other end of the country in Boston. He suspected that the case she had been working on in San Diego ultimately ended up with her in Boston because of the marathon there. So when the bombings happened back on Monday, she was already there and had been assigned to help In the investigation. So no one knew when she'd be back in LA.

Marty decided he needed to talk to Sam as well, maybe try and pave the way since it was apparent that Sam and Hetty were the only ones kept in the loop as to what was going on with her. So his mind made up, he would talk to Sam and apologize to Nell when she got back, whenever that would be. His conscious cleared now, he went to work on the paperwork with a slight smile on his face.

* * *

Until next time.


	11. Chapter 11

Happy New Year.

* * *

Chapter 11

_Boston _

_Friday, April 19, 2013_

_Just after 3 a.m._

The loud knock on the door woke her up. Reaching over to the nightstand, she checked the clock on her cell and groaned. "Okay, give me a sec."

Jenna her roommate had also been woken up by the knocking. "What the hell!" Throwing off the covers she grabbed her service weapon and approached the door to their hotel room. "Who is it?"

"It's Carson," the two both heard on the other side of the door.

Jenna opened the door enough to stick out her face. "What is it," she said in a low voice.

"A situation's come up, get dressed and meet downstairs ASAP."

"Shit!"

"I'm on it," came Nell who had joined Jenna at the door.

"Okay, we'll be downstairs in a few," spoke Jenna.

Closing the door the two women quickly got dressed and joined the others once they all had piled into the car, Carson filled them in. "There was a shootout at MIT word is explosives were involved."

"Explosives," came more than a few surprised voices.

"Sounds like MIT police ran into some serious baddies," came Nell who was squeezed in the middle of the back seat.

"On a university campus," cane Jim. "One of the best schools in the damned country. Very radical to me."

"Could it be the bombers," Jenna asked.

"We'll find out soon enough, everything's being fast tracked right now. We'll know more when we get to the office."

NCISLA

_Boston_

_5:15 a.m._

Nell was reading through the information as fast as she could read it. _Holy crap!_ Everything was coming in fast and that was an understatement. After the incident at MIT and what responding officers had discovered, it was the break everyone had been waiting for and now everyone was running with what had been discovered. Pressure cooker bombs like the ones on Monday had been discovered and used. One bomber dead and so on. But what had Nell's attention now was the dead bomber. Reading though the information discovered, Nell realized they needed information from Russia and groups out there in the Chechen region. Her brain was thinking fast when Carson came up, "Got something,"

"Yeah, but we're going to need information from Russia and fast."

"Yeah, I read the information. FBI had been asked to look into this guy. How could they have missed this?"

"Don't know but if we're going to have to find out more, we had better hit our contacts out that way."

"Heard the Bureau's on that now, hell CIA's probably playing catch up again."

A thought came to her head and she realized she was going to have to call Hetty. "I might know someone out of our office who might have contacts out there, He speaks Russian and several other Eastern European languages, he might have contacts out that way." Not referring to a certain agent named G. Callen.

"Make the call,"

Nell quickly picked up the phone and dialed not really caring if it was after two in the morning right now in LA. After the second ring the caller answered the phone. "_Hello."_

"Hetty it's Nell, we got a major break in the case …"

NCISLA

_Los Angeles_

_2:30 a.m._

Sam was startled out of his sleep by his phone wondering who would be calling at this hour. Answering the call without checking the caller ID he said, "Hello," in a half asleep voice.

"_Sorry to wake you Sam but they got a major break in the case in Boston and I need you to come in and help Mr. Callen with any contacts you two might have in the Russian Chechen region and quickly."_

"Sure Hetty, I'm on my way." Hanging up the phone, he noticed that Michelle was also awake and looking at him. "They had a major break in the case in Boston. Gotta go in." But then Sam thought for a moment, "You know of any contacts in the Chechen region?"

Before Michelle could answer him her phone rang. She quickly picked it up and answered the call while Sam got dressed listening to the one sided conversation. "Yes, sir … I'm on it." After hanging up the phone, she looked at him. "I got the same call from my boss about contacts. What the hell happened out there?"

"I don't know but I'm going to find out. I gotta go in, call me if you got anything or need anything."

"Same here, be careful."

"You too, I love you," he said placing a kiss on her cheeks.

"Now get going, don't worry about the kids, I'll take care of it."

Sam nodded and then left the house headed for the office. Sam found a McDonald's that was open 24 hours and ordered four large coffees thinking that both he and G were going to need them at this hour anyway. He also ordered up some biscuit sandwiches and hash browns knowing that they were both going to need to eat soon anyway. Food and drinks set in the passenger's seat of the car, he headed for the office. Walking into the office he discovered Hetty there already. "Hey Hetty, Callen here yet?"

"I'm expecting him to walk in the door any minute now," she said.

"I'm here," the person in question responded walking in with coffees and a bag which looked like it had food in it as well. "Picked up some coffees and breakfast, didn't know McDonald's was open this early."

"Did the same here," spoke Sam indicating what he had brought.

"Least we know we'll be well fed and caffeinated up," said Hetty noting that she had brought in donuts as well.

"So what's this about needing contacts in the Chechen region of Russia," asked Sam.

"They got a major break in the case about 2:30 this morning Boston time." The two listened as to what had been discovered so far from the information that Nell had given Hetty.

"You mean the dead guy was from Russia," Sam asked disbelieving.

"Yes," replied Hetty.

"Sounds like FBI dropped the ball on this one," spoke Callen.

"Duly noted, now we need to find out more about groups in that region, apparently this person has been in contact with them and or has been recruited. But we need to find out fast any information about our suspect and the groups out in that part of Russia and quickly. There is still another bomber out there."

"I'm on it Hetty," spoke Callen.

"Good and Mr. Hannah is here to assist you. We need to move quickly. They are shutting down Boston as we speak," indicating the television that was on in the main area broadcasting the latest from Boston.

"Isn't that a bit extreme,' asked Callen.

"Considering what the dead bomber and his accomplice did at MIT several hours ago I'd rather be off the streets too if I was a civilian."

Sam nodded knowingly. "Yeah you're right Hetty."

"Makes sense then," said Callen.

"Let's get to work then," she spoke as the two men went to their desks to begin what would be a long day.

NCISLA

_Los Angeles_

_12:30 p.m._

Sam had agreed to get burgers for everyone for lunch. Armed with a list of everyone's orders, he made his way to everyone's favorite burger joint which was not far from the mission. As he got out of the car, he spotted a familiar car in the parking lot. _Deeks is here, okay._ _Maybe had a craving for burgers too. _ He wondered to himself. He was about to walk in when Marty Deeks walked out with several bags full of sandwiches. "Hi Sam," spoke the blonde.

"Deeks," he replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Doing what you're doing, picking up lunch."

"So how's LAPD?"

"Fine I wish I was back with you guys. Kensi's going crazy stuck at a desk."

Sam nodded, he knew all about it.

Marty thought this would be a good time to talk to Sam but he hesitated for a moment. Sam noticed it. "Uh Sam," Deeks was trying to say. "You … and Hetty were right."

Sam was a bit surprised but listened.

"I guess being away from you all gave me some time to think. I should have given Nell the benefit of doubt. I know we don't know much about her so finding out she was a runner and did races well I couldn't believe it and should have talked to her before saying what I said."

"You know you hurt her don't you," Sam said.

Deeks sighed, "Yeah, I figured I did. I just want the chance to make things right. So I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. You had every right to be mad at us, but you and Hetty were right."

"Apology accepted, but you know you still need to talk to Nell."

"Yeah I know, but she's still in Boston, I'm going to have to wait till she gets back. But I got this feeling that when I do return on Monday, Callens or maybe even Kensi are going to try and keep me from doing it."

Sam thought for a moment, _he does have a point._ "Let me see what I can do. I can't guarantee anything."

"That's okay. I know we don't know when Nell will be back. But when she does, I just want to make things right. She's more like the little sister I never had."

Sam never thought of it that way, but when Nell first arrived she didn't quite fit in. But over time she had wormed her way into everyone's hearts in the office and had earned the respect of those who work at the mission. Not just their team, but everyone. "You're right," Sam nodded. "I'll be in touch."

"Thanks Sam."

"You're welcome," he nodded and headed inside the burger joint to get everyone's lunches. He would talk to Nell later and let her know about Deeks. But for now he was just satisfied with the apology and needed to get lunch before the masses sent a search party out for him wondering where their food was.

* * *

Until next time.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_Boston_

_Friday, April 19, 2013_

_8:00 p.m._

They had gotten the call everyone had been hoping for. Apparently the remaining bomber was holed up under a tarp on a boat parked in someone's backyard. The FBI was taking the lead on this one with their tactical force and SWAT. Nell and everyone else were the back-up on standby nearby in case they were needed. While they waited for Tactical to go in they were busy securing the area and advising residents to stay indoors. It took time considering no one had any idea what the guy had on him, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, they got word from the helicopter above that someone was in there. Nell and her fellow agents were getting itchy fingers and nervous trigger fingers waiting to see what would happen. Finally after nearly an hour it was over. They all heard it on their radios. _"Suspect n custody. Scene secured."_ They allowed the ambulance in to pick up the perp and take him to the hospital with a police escort.

It seemed like ages to Nell before they were allowed to leave. The NCIS agents filed into their cars and as they were driving away from the area they saw people out on the sidewalks cheering and clapping. "Wow," was all Nell could say to the scene outside her car window. They were waiting until they got back to the office before they could celebrate themselves.

Upon arriving at the office, everyone let loose the tension they had been holding for lord only knows how long. There was cheering and clapping and plenty of high-fives to go around. Someone brought out the Champaign that had been hidden until now and cups were being filled as everyone toasted the completion to the case. Once the cheers died down, the head of their group called for everone's attention. "Now I know when I speak for everyone when I say a job well done. To the team from DC and our one agent from LA, thanks for sticking around, I know how much you all want to get back home now but you'll all have to wait just a little bit longer."

Everyone was listening as he spoke. "But with all cases, we still have to put up with the paperwork." That elicited more than a few chuckles from the gathered group. Before he could resume talking his phone rang. Glancing at it, he realized it was Vance calling. "Uh, sorry I gotta take this." Answering the phone, he spoke, "Yes sir, … okay, hold on a sec," putting the phone on speaker he continued. "Alright Director you are on speaker."

"_I just want to congratulate you all on a job well done. I know this hasn't been an easy week for all of you but good work."_

"Thank you Director Vance," came a chorus of voices from around the group.

"_Now I know you all still have paperwork to complete before we turn this over to the US attorney's office but my office is busy arranging for transportation to get those of you from other offices back home this weekend. We'll have your travel arrangements for you tomorrow morning."_

"I am so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed," Nell was whispering to Jenna.

"Same here, my husband will be happy to have me back home," she said with a smile.

"Thank you sir," spoke up Carson.

"_A job well done and I won't keep you all waiting. So good night," _Vance said ending the call.

With that everyone returned back to completing paperwork. Nell was never more happy to be doing this since it meant she would be going home to LA either tomorrow or Sunday So she really didn't mind the paperwork.

NCISLA

_Los Angeles_

No one had gone home. They were gathered in front of the large flat screen tv in the main area watching the coverage. "Wow, it's finally over," Kensi said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, I can't believe they finally caught the guy," said Sam with a smile on his face.

"So that means Nell will be coming home then. Wonder when that will be," Eric was asking.

"As soon as they finish the paperwork and travel arrangements are made," came Hetty's reply. "She should be back here on Monday at the earliest." That drew a lot of smiles from other agents and staff who were gathered there including Sam.

"Oh, good," spoke Eric. That drew a glare from Sam.

"Yeah and Deeks will be back here too," chimed in Kensi.

What Kensi didn't know was that Sam and Hetty were arranging a meet between Nell and Deeks when she returned. Nell had been happy and had figured that the blonde detective would have come to his senses before everyone else. But no one else knew about this yet. _Hate to be around when the others find out._ Sam was telling himself. The remaining three had still not come to their senses and it was infuriating Hetty and pissing Sam off. _If Eric was hoping that things would return to normal, he had another thing coming._ And that was an understatement. Hetty hadn't said what she would do next, but whatever she had planned, it wasn't going to be pretty. With Hetty anything was possible.

NCISLA

_Monday, April 22, 2013_

_6:30 a.m._

Deeks arrived at the coffee shop on time. It was still early but he didn't mind. He was here to meet a certain petite redhead who had come back to LA yesterday. Marty had spent the weekend thinking about what he would say to Nell but in the end, he just decided to go with the truth. Entering the shop, he found Nell sitting at a corner table and it appeared she had ordered him a large coffee and there were some pastries set in the center. He had to smile. No wonder this place was chosen, he liked the pastries here. Walking over he took a seat across from her. "Hey glad to see you back," he said with a smile. Truth was he was glad to see her. After the taking the assignment with the Sand Diego MCRT, he realized how strange it felt without her there.

"Thanks," she replied taking a sip of coffee.

Not wanting to waste time, Deeks just decided to come out with it. "Uh, Nell, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I was acting like a total jerk and with Callen, Kensi and Eric doing the same thing, I … well should have talked to you first before saying the stuff I said. I mean, I really don't know much about you and I guess because of our jobs, we all have our own thing …" he said continuing o ramble on.

"Deeks," Nell finally said. "It's okay, apology accepted."

"You … you mean that?"

"Yeah I do, I understand."

"Yeah, but how could we or even I have seen it."

"Well, I guess we're all entitled to our secrets. For me It's running, besides it helps me clear my head.

"Well that's cool, then. Well, you know I like surfing anyway."

"Yeah I think I've heard it mentioned a few times. But I don't know what beach you go to."

"Well I guess it's okay then, besides, there are several I go to I kind of vary it depending on the conditions. Something like you running, you probably have several routes you alternate with then huh."

"Yeah, something like that," she said with a grin taking another sip of her coffee.

"Same thing with the marathons, to then," he asked taking a sip of his coffee and eyeing the pastries trying to decide on which one to eat first.

"Yeah, that's why I don't advertise that, so no one knows where I am or which one I'm running. It kind of makes things kind of interesting."

"I bet," selecting a jelly filled one and taking a bite. _Mmm no wonder why I like this place,_ savoring the taste in his mouth.

Nell selected a pastry and began eating it. "It's a good way to keep things interesting. Besides I've heard Sam and even Callen say to not keep a routine anyway. But sometimes we do need a routine but at least with mine, I like to shake it up a bit."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But I like routine it keeps me centered. I guess that's why no one knew what you did in your off time."

"Yeah," she said taking a sip of her coffee.

The two ate the pastries for a few minutes and had polished off their coffees when Deeks offered to get them more. She agreed and he got up and headed to the counter picking up two more coffees for them and then returned to their table.

"So, Boston," he spoke. "must have been a very interesting week."

"Understatement of the year," she said. "I never expected to be there when the bombs went off."

"So were you at the marathon when it happened?"

Shaking her head, "no was at the hotel. It caught us all off guard."

"So did you run it the marathon?"

"Yeah, for the case I had to. We finished almost an hour before the bombs went off. We heard the explosions though."

"Maybe a little too close for comfort then."

"Yeah, a little."

"So what was it like dealing with the alphabet soup."

"Crazy. FBI was caught off guard by this one when it was over."

"So I heard."

"Uh huh,"

The two sat and talked for another hour going through coffee and pasties before realizing that they had to be in at eight. Luckily they were close to the mission.

"You still have to do your run today?"

"No, I'm still on Boston time so I was up really early this morning so I already did it." What she didn't tell Deeks was that she had gone to an indoor gym and had done her five miles on their indoor track at five that morning.

"Gee Nell, you have guts. I'm still out cold. I find I'm still half asleep at 5:30."

"Why thank you detective."

"So let's head to the office. I know a lot of people who will be glad to see you."

They headed for their cars and drove the short drive to the mission. Sam had just arrived and just observed as the two arrived and apparently were still continuing a conversation as they headed for the entrance. "Hey, things okay," he asked.

"Yeah, we're good Sam," replied Nell.

"As she said, we're good," came Deeks' reply as the three headed into the building. Eric was on the upper landing while others were gathered around the main area. The moment they spotted Nell coning in with Sam and Deeks someone began clapping and it was joined by others as the entire building erupted in clapping and cheering for their returned agent. Nell was flattered as it seemed like the noise went on for ages. Once it began to die down people came over to welcome her back and congratulated her on Boston. Eric stayed upstairs unsure what to do. While Callen and Kensi did the same thing at their desks. Hetty finally made her way over and spoke to her. "Congradulations Miss Jones and welcome back."

"Thanks Hetty,"

"Now that you're back hopefully things can return to normal for a little while at least."

"It's good to be back."

"Now let's get to work."

Everyone agreed as they went to their desks and Nell went to hers happy to be back where she belonged.

* * *

TBC ...

Until Next time.


End file.
